


wandering boons

by kuroeko



Series: book of fairytales [2]
Category: Inazuma Eleven, Inazuma Eleven GO
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, ina11fantasyweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroeko/pseuds/kuroeko
Summary: Tenma and Taiyou continue on their journey, but unexpectedly run into an old and strangely helpful couple while taking a quick break.
Relationships: Amemiya Taiyou/Matsukaze Tenma, Tachimukai Yuuki/Tsunami Jousuke
Series: book of fairytales [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2031094
Kudos: 4





	wandering boons

**Author's Note:**

> This is set after the events of [the toll of love](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27764860). But it can still be read as a standalone fic as it centers more on character interactions. Part of the [book of fairytales](https://archiveofourown.org/series/2031094) series.  
> \---  
> Written for Inazuma Eleven Fantasy Week!  
> Prompts associated with this one are:  
> Day 6 (1/16) - weapons/quest  
> \---  
> Thank you [ Enkidudu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enkidudu) for beta!

It was a warm summer day, one of the last as fall was approaching soon. White clouds chased one another across the varied blue sky, birds wheeling above the evergreen forest treetops and enjoying the summer jet streams. Amongst the flocks of birds were two distinctly larger specks, also utilizing the jet stream to shorten their travel time. A single wingfolk angled his white wings to move closer to a cream-colored pegasus, whose powerful dappled wings pushed through the air. The rider of the pegasus glanced to the side as the wingfolk closed the gap, then laughed as the faster core of the jetstream shot the wayward boy forward. 

“Ah! Taiyou!” The ricocheting wingfolk cried out for help, right before he was pushed out of earshot.

“Tenma, stay farther out where the wind is slower!” Taiyou laughed as his pegasus simply lowered his head and flew faster to catch up to the bouncing wingfolk. They soon reached equilibrium again, with Tenma flying further out from them on the side in order to not be separated too quickly. 

“Apollo, are you feeling tired?” The kind pegasus rider leaned forward and ran a hand over his loyal steed’s powerful shoulder muscles. He could feel a slight sheen of sweat on them, and looked at the slowly passing valley below to see if there was a good place to land. The sky reflected back in a spot next to the river below, indicating that the water had partially pooled there and had formed a small lake. 

His stoic pegasus only huffed slightly in reply, but Taiyou had made his decision already. Sitting back up, he waved over to Tenma to get the boy’s attention, then swung his leg over the side of the saddle and pushed off into the air. It took less than a thought, and his weredragon wings sprung into life from his back, pushing up against the burgundy knit shawl wrapped around his shoulders. A couple flaps, and he angled diagonally through the jet stream to reach where Tenma was currently coasting. 

Apollo immediately whinnied, feeling the weight lessen on his back, but saw his master fly right past him. Following behind, he watched the two boys have a shouted conversation in the air, then begin descending. It was no bother to the older pegasus, but sometimes youngsters needed to give him more warning than just this. 

“Don’t worry about stopping often, Taiyou!” Tenma grinned over at his love as they headed towards the little lake below. “Apollo only just recovered, it’s best if we take it easy for him as well.”

“I’m glad we didn’t get stuck in that inn for another month again,” the relieved weredragon replied, having gotten out within a week after exchanging some choice words with Aphrodi. Apollo had been well taken care of, his injury nearly nonexistent other than some missing feathers on both wings to balance out for flight. They’d grow back over time, and he’d had healthy weight gain instead of loss while at the inn, which bode well for his longer term recovery. 

“We have plenty of time, don’t worry, Taiyou! I’m sure the land past the mountains will be lots of fun to explore. Both Fubuki and Aphrodi told us a lot about it!” Treetops were approaching now, and Tenma stopped the conversation to focus on navigating the dense branches to land safely. All three of them touched down on the thick underbrush, fallen branches and pine needles crunching under their soles.

“Wow, the lake is bigger than I thought,” Taiyou commented as he stepped forward out of the forest to approach the widely spanning body of water. It shimmered softly from surface winds, bits of sunlight sparkling off of the choppy waves. He couldn’t see the other side of the lake, a surprise as from so far above it had seemed like a little pond. 

“It’s a nice lake! I wonder if anyone has named it.” Tenma came forward, one hand on Apollo’s broad shoulders. “Let’s freshen up here, I’m sure Apollo’s thirsty and I’m a bit hungry, too!” The pegasus trotted forward without any prompting and began to drink from the lake, wings flicking slightly as he cooled off. His two companions pulled out a blanket and spread it on the dirt shore behind him to rest on and eat a quick meal. 

“Aphrodi gave us so much again.” The pack that was always slung over Tenma’s shoulder was opened up to display a mouthwatering spread of cheese, bread, and smoked meats. All good for long travel durations, along with some spice sachets if they hunted down some fresh game. Tenma pulled out his short dagger and began to work at some of the twine holding down an unopened packet of bread when he stopped and stared at the blade in his hand. 

“Something wrong?” Taiyou asked, leaning over to also take a good look at the dagger. 

“Well...if we’re going to be adventuring, I’m not sure if this dagger will be enough of a weapon,” Tenma confessed, holding it up in between them. There were short nicks in it already from when he’d accidentally bounced it against some rocks. It also didn’t have good reach, and was starting to dull from overuse. 

“Oh….” In reality, Taiyou really didn’t want either of them to end up in any more fights. His entire battle plan was to take Tenma and Apollo and to run as fast as they could. He couldn’t bear to see either of them hurt ever again. 

“I don’t think it’ll be that big of a problem-” He began to explain, when Tenma flapped his wings slightly and bounced in place.

“Oh! I have a great idea! This can be our first quest! Find me a nice weapon!” The excited wingfolk raised his worn dagger into the air, letting the sun glint off of the metal blade as he turned it midair. 

“Tenma, quests have to be _given_ to us, you can’t just give yourself one,” Taiyou laughed as he reached up to pull down the hovering hand. “And besides, I’d rather us not get into any trouble, so getting a weapon shouldn’t be that big of a priority if we stay safe.” 

“Having a nice weapon _will_ keep us safe, Taiyou!” Tenma went back to working at the twine, then glanced at the handsome sword strapped to his _handsome_ lover’s belt. He’d like something like that as well, it just exuded valiance.

“Well, maybe we should focus on getting you a better knife in general,” the weredragon observed as the dagger blade struggled against the thin twine. Either this was some godly twine or the dagger was really dull. 

“Maybe next time we’re in a town, we can go to the blacksmith.” Finally cutting through the twine, they assembled a makeshift sandwich from all the ingredients and began eating it. Neither of them knew when would be the next time they’d see a proper village, much less a town. They were deep in the wilderness now, and Aphrodi hadn’t given any enigmatic advice this time, other than a warning about not eating strangely colored mushrooms. That seemed like general advice, though. 

“I wonder if they’ll speak the same languages past the mountain.” Tenma leaned back with one arm as he munched on his sandwich. The air was calm, light wind brushing through and rustling the treetop branches and short grass growing all around them. Apollo was resting in the shade of the nearby trees now, grazing on some of the grass as he waited for his owners to finish up. Birdsong could be heard all around and Tenma relaxed, letting his hand wander until it covered Taiyou’s. The weredragon’s tail flicked in surprise, then settled as he entwined their fingers. They smiled at each other, a pink blush decorating both of their cheeks. Then Taiyou leaned forward slightly, ready to gift a little kiss, when a crash through the nearby brush startled both of them into grabbing their weapons. 

Neither of them could spot where the sound had first came from, but the sound of some more branches cracking, along with disconnected shouts, floated over to where they sat at the lake shore. Taiyou stood slowly, raising his sword while trying to hint at Tenma to get Apollo ready for a quick flight. Yet before either of them could make another move, some folk ran straight out of the woods and into the lake with a loud whoop.

“Water! Man, I love this!” The newcomer was clad in navy and white robes with white cords holding it together onto his body. A long pink and scaled tail broke up through the water surface, the end sporting a pink tuft that matched the fanned out hair around curled dusty-pink horns. Tapered fuzzy pink ears were erect as he splashed through the lake, tanned arms gathering up the water, then suspending it in midair and watching it spin in amusing shapes.

“That’s _not_ normal, Tenma, let’s go.” Taiyou whispered to his still-crouched companion, both watching the ridiculously powerful display of magic. A cube of water was currently slowly rotating in the air, fish and all still trapped within it and ogling at the world above the water surface. 

“Tsunami!! Slow down!” A more plain-looking folk walked out of the woods, reins in one hand as he led a sturdy packhorse along. There were bags galore on this hardworking steed, and on his owner as well. Muffled strings of bells were visible along the saddle and reigns: a merchant had arrived in the middle of nowhere. Just as Taiyou was trying to decide if he should be wary of this stranger, their eyes met and they stared at each other in shocked silence. 

“Ahhhh!!!! Tsunami! THERE’S OTHER FOLK HERE!” A surprisingly loud voice came out of the little merchant, his short brown hair nearly standing on end around his two small, black, pointed horns. Two black leathery wings flapped out from his back as he shouted, and Tenma gasped upon seeing a rare demonfolk, so far from their usual homeland. Tsunami, the water fiend, turned from where he’d been floating in the water to stare at the folk he’d ignored on the shore. Letting the water propel him towards them, he created an especially large wave to push himself upright, and casually walked over to greet them.

“Oh, you’re right! I got too excited.” He reached up and ruffled his pink hair, laughing heartily as he spoke. “You can barely see the other side of the lake here, isn’t that great? Just like the ocean!” Taiyou could only slowly nod as he took in the unusual decorations this folk sported. Jewels and fishhooks seemed to be present in equal amounts along the white cords at intermittent intervals, flashing in the sunlight as water slicked off of the scaled tail. Glancing upwards, he noticed how oddly shaped the horns were. Most weredragons only had horns that curved around their head, never spiraling into itself then twisting upwards like...this one.

“Woah, is that a sandwich?! Y’all eating lunch?” Tsunami looked away from their hands up into the sky, and noted that the sun was midway on its path and it really _was_ about time to eat.

“Tachimukai, let’s have lunch! Do you mind sharing a meal with us?” He gestured at their blanket, then sat down without further prompting. The poor nervous demonfolk on the side dropped the reins on his packhorse and came over to try and sort out the mess.

“Hello, I’m sorry, this is Tsunami, I’m Tachimukai, his husband. I’m a traveling merchant and Tsunami is...just following me around.”

“I’m an ocean dragon!” Tsunami unhelpfully announced, as blood drained from Taiyou and Tenma’s faces.

“Wait, wait, he has no interest in other folk and is just spending time traveling with me,” Tachimukai hurriedly tried to patch up the rapidly decaying mess of introductions. “He’s a harmless dragon.” Just as he said that, Tsunami turned and stared at the lake. The water surface bulged slightly, then a spray of live silver fish flew out and onto the shore.

“There! Plenty of food.” The excited dragon pointed at the frantically flopping fish. “Do y’all like grilled fish? Oh you there, little fire weredragon, can you make a fire?” 

“Uh.” Taiyou could only nod, wondering how they’d gotten into this mess despite not moving at all the entire time.

“I’m sorry.” Tachimukai weakly stated again as Tenma began to undo the twine again to make another few sandwiches. As his fingers worked around the twine, it nudged against an oilskin-wrapped packet and he pulled it out upon remembering what was in it. 

“What about seasoned grilled fish?” Tenma asked as he held up a little sachet of seasonings that Aphrodi had given them. “It’ll probably taste better!”

“Fish is great, but seasoned fish is even better!” Tsunami jumped up from his seat, then took the sachet to sniff at it. He stopped, the scales on his tale rising in a wave towards the tip of his tail. Two fuzzy ears stood on end, then he sniffed it again.

“Where’d you get this?” Lowering his hand, he stared at the two boys that seemed perfectly normal, unless...he squinted his eyes a little more and really _looked_.

“Um, from Aphrodi? He’s the innkeeper nearby.” Tenma helpfully supplied this information, then noticed how much the dragon kept looking at Taiyou. A weird look was present on the fishmonger’s face. His husband reached over and lightly knocked a fist on the pink head of hair.

“Where are your manners, Tsunami! OK let’s just start again with introductions. I’m Tachimukai, he’s Tsunami, may I ask what your names are?” A very nice start, if they all ignored the still flopping fishes in the background. 

“I’m Tenma!” The winged boy enthusiastically supplied, then turned and waited for his love to introduce himself.

“I’m Taiyou,” the weredragon bowed his head slightly, still on edge. The demonfolk merchant seemed nice, but dragons were so unpredictable, he didn’t really want to hang around. 

“Good to meet you two!” Tsunami spread out his arms, the spice sachet still dangling from one hand. “It looks like you two have crossed paths with some of my old friends. I’m surprised Aphrodi is in this neck of the woods! He used to keep more towards the mountains. That was probably a millenia ago, though, but time does move differently for him.” 

_An old dragon_ , Taiyou weakly thought, knowing the older they were the more powerful the dragon was. The old dragon seemed easily persuaded by his husband, though, as they went together to gather up some flopping fish and start getting them ready for the grill. Taiyou put down his sandwich, then went to begin gathering up some dry brush for a fire. 

“Tenma, you just stay there,” he called over to the winged boy who began to get up to help. “Hold down the blanket.” 

“Are you sure?” Brows furrowed, Tenma watched everyone work except for him. 

“Yeah, I still don’t know what’s up with them, but I’d rather us be together.” Taiyou sighed, dumping the armful of sticks and beginning to strip off the pine needles on them. “They seem alright, but I’m not so sure about dragons.”

“They’re your next of kin! It should be alright.” Tenma leaned forward as he watched Taiyou take a deep breath, then lightly tap the pile of sticks. A spark of fire blossomed from his fingertip, rapidly climbing along the dry kindling and reaching tendrils up in the air to feed itself further. It was always a wonder to see this small display of power that grew inside Taiyou each day, no longer causing him pain when he used it.

“Good job, Taiyou!” Tsunami came back, holding bunches of gutted and cleaned fish by the gills in each hand. “Let’s get these seasoned up and grilling, Tenma.” Everyone was put to work cleaning, cooking, or prepping this unexpected meal. The older couple proved easy to work with, and Taiyou slowly lowered his guard as they spent time together. Soon, all the fish were on sharpened sticks and slowly cooking over the open fire. The scent was beginning to build, spices mixing in with the white fish meat as they all waited for the second meal while eating more sandwiches Tenma had made.

“Just a few more minutes,” Tachimukai announced, placing a fish skewer back after prying open the meat with his blade. Just because his husband could eat raw fish didn’t mean he was going to allow strangers to do that. The two boys were extremely well behaved, though, and were definitely travelers as there weren’t any villages nearby.

“Where are you two heading?” He asked, trying for a proper opening line after their disastrous introduction.

“Past the mountains! We’re going to go exploring,” openhearted Tenma easily spilled out all their plans much to Taiyou’s chagrin. 

“That’s where I’m from!” Tsunami perked up, seeing that he could contribute to this conversation. 

“Ohhh any advice? Will we have to fight a lot there? My dagger is dull so I made it our first quest: to find me a good weapon!” Tenma showed them the blade, and both of them leaned in to take a look at the chipped edges. It was rare to meet people from over the mountain, as the pass was difficult to traverse even during summer. Tenma’s entire group could fly though, so it made things a bit easier, although the air currents were also hard to navigate with such tight peaks. 

“Man, that _is_ really worn, Tachimukai, do you have anything?” Tsunami leaned back and crossed his arms as his husband got up to go rummage in his packs. “Although that’s not really a quest, you don’t have a quest mark on you. I suppose it’s your own _request_ to yourself.” The dragon chuckled to himself at his own genius, then cocked his head as he took the young couple in. 

“Well, it wouldn’t be fair to let your lover have all the fun, wouldn’t it?” He leaned forward, then heartily palmed Tenma’s forehead with a good-sounding smack. 

“Ow!” Tenma fell backwards, white wings splaying out on the ground and trying to make sense of all the stars...and waves and fish (?!) swimming in front of his eyes. 

“Hey!” Taiyou jumped up, drawing his sword, while Tachimukai ran back to try and settle whatever had happened the moment he’d walked away.

“Don’t worry!! I just blessed him a little,” Tsunami held up his hands to try and absolve himself of all blame. “He might see some floating fish for a little bit, but it’s not fair for only you to be thrice blessed, ain’t it? He’s gotta start somewhere.” 

“There’s a really big fish with six fins.” Tenma whispered from where he was lying on the ground, eyes open to a world beyond the one they were in right now.

“Wow that’s really lucky!” Tsunami dodged his husband’s smack, then gave them all a sheepish smile. “I was never one for finger flicks.”

“I leave for _one_ minute, Tsunami!” 

Taiyou left the good-natured couple to bicker amongst themselves and went to check on Tenma. The boy seemed to be recovering quite well, blinking a bit more than before and starting to sit back up. 

“How are you feeling?” Taiyou asked, concerned as he ran his hands over soft white wings.

“I’m OK, I think I taste salt in my mouth, though.” Tenma replied, sticking out his tongue a bit while speaking. “Is there salt on my tongue?”

“Sorry that’s a side effect, everything’s going to taste saltier for a few days.” Tsunami called over from where he was being chastised by his husband for giving unwanted blessings. “I haven’t blessed anyone but my husband in a few centuries. Forgot.”

“I suppose we won’t have to worry about the fish being unsalted for me,” Tenma joked as he brushed himself up, then fluffed his wings slightly with a little laugh. “My first blessing! Two more and I’ll be like you, Taiyou.”

“I don’t think I want you or me to get any more,” Taiyou confessed, thinking about how they’d asked for none of these blessings. Gods were _so_ whimsical. 

“The fish is ready!!” Tsunami called over, hoping the distraction of food would get his husband off his back. It worked, as they all busied themselves with cooling and prepping the cooked fish skewers. There was plenty to go around, and soon they were all settled in a rough circle on the blanket again to eat. 

“Tenma, I’m sorry about earlier, his blessing doesn’t really do much unless you get near an ocean.” Tachimukai leaned over towards the boy as they ate, then remembered what he’d left for. “Take this as an apology, I think this might be a good weapon for you, seeing as you can fly.” He passed over a pair of objects and Tenma took them in one hand, the other occupied by a fish skewer. 

A polished piece of dark brown wood in a Y-shape had some tightly wrapped cloth around the longer handle. Two lengths of rubber were attached to each of the other ends, and ended in a leather seat. It was a well made slingshot, and the leather pouch that accompanied it held an assortment of different material pellets for firing. 

“You can hit stuff from a distance, just pull it back and let it go! I used to use these a long time ago, although now I’m well protected.” He gestured towards his husband who was ribbing an uncomfortable-looking Taiyou on the other side of the blanket. 

“Oh wow, thank you!” Tenma looked over the little weapon in his hand, then smiled at the possibilities that could come with it. “This will definitely be useful!”

“I’d hope you two stay out of trouble, but you can hunt game with this as well,” Tachimukai went back to eating his own fish skewer. “But having a dragon, or weredragon by your side, is always a boon.” 

“You’re right,” Tenma agreed with a little laugh as he watched an annoyed Taiyou swat away Tsunami’s wandering hand that was trying to add some more sea salt to his own fish skewer. Where that salt came from, Taiyou would rather not know nor taste.

\---

“We’ll be off then, I’d like to go see Aphrodi if he’s along the way,” Tsunami grinned over at them, hands in his robes as Tachimukai finished checking over his packhorse’s bags. They’d all finished eating and cleaned up the mess they’d made. It was time to part ways again, back onto their original paths. 

“If you follow the white stones, they’ll lead you to his inn,” Tenma supplied, happy to pass along this information.

“Sounds good, I’m sure we’ll see one soon. That’s very him,” the dragon replied with a slight inclination of his head, smile never wavering. “Little one, take care.”

“I will.” Taiyou mulishly replied, having had enough of dragons for a good while. First Hakuryuu, now this!

“Take care, Tenma, Taiyou! May our paths cross once again.” Tachimukai waved at them as his packhorse began to walk back into the woods. The two boys waved until the figures couldn’t be seen through the weaving woods anymore. It was back to before any of this had happened, just the two of them by the lakeshore. 

Taiyou stood for a moment, thinking over where they’d go next, when a tug on his sleeve had him turning towards the source. A sudden kiss happened, Tenma pulling back with a grin on his face and flapping his wings slightly to lift up into the air. 

“That’s for earlier before we got interrupted! I think I’ve eaten enough for days, what do you say we keep going for a little longer?” 

Apollo whinnied from where he’d been resting in the shade in agreement, and Taiyou laughed as he reached up to grasp his love’s arm in the air. Red-orange wings sprouted from his back and he beat them to follow upwards. Every day was a new experience, and he was glad to be here for it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This was a fun little fic to write, and maybe you will see more of all these characters in future fics as well~ Poor Tenma, he's going to just bite some tree bark and find that it also tastes salty a week later.  
> \---  
> [Jet Streams](https://www.weather.gov/jetstream/jet) \- fun fact, jet streams do have several different layers of speed in the wind tunnel formation it flows in. I was not making that up.  
> \---  
> You can find me and the rest of my entries etc. on my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kuroekoo) or... my [Tumblr](https://kuroeko.tumblr.com/) !


End file.
